One year after hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money was dispersed to Turkey from the United States, major improvements have already been made, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Three grants, totaling $823,000, were given to Turkey from USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad program in November 2014. The awards have been used for improvements in two schools, Robert College and Üsküdar American College in Istanbul, and SEV American Hospital in Gaziantep.
“The upgraded facilities will allow students a better opportunity to be competitive with students around the world,” Raphael Cook, a spokesman for USAID, told Vaccine News Daily. “Renovations to the hospital in Gaziantep will allow the hospital to provide expanded service to the local population.”
USAID grants are awarded as evidence of goodwill toward countries, with the hope of encouraging and improving relationships between citizens in the United States and other countries. Grants are also essential to improving the lives of the people where the grants are given, and serve U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy initiatives.
“The networks of educational and medical institutions supported by USAID/American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) offer local communities opportunities to access quality education and health services in areas where often few or no services exist,” Cook said. “USAID/ASHA partners have educated successive generations of global citizens and leaders, deepening their understanding of American ideas and practices.”
The schools and hospital in Turkey will see capital improvements, equipment upgrades and modernized facilities.
USAID/ASHA grants usually have two- to- four-year durations; the three projects enumerated in this grant are still ongoing. ASHA works to improve innovation, schools, libraries and medical centers in 80 different countries.
USAID has been supporting Turkey since 1957.
